I’m a little upset that I didn’t go to see this one when it screened at TIFF, but I was very happy that this was a film that my partner and I could watch together, and we greatly enjoyed it. But it’s Jeffrey Wright, the man can do anything, and play anything, and he brings it for American Fiction, which quite deservedly earned him an Oscar nomination.

His performance is nuanced, the way he uses his body, his face, his voice, it’s a performance to celebrate. I’ll say it stratight out, Jeffery Wright is a fantastic actor!

The film did win Cord Jefferson an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and it’s fantastic, as it follows Monk (Wright) a brilliant writer, that can’t seem to get a bestseller, because he’s not writing what the publishing establishment sees as ‘real African-American’ stories.

He decides to write a stereotypical ‘black ghetto’ story as a joke on the publishing community, but it backfires when it first comes up for a bidding war, a film adaptation, and everyone wants to meet the author. Monk published it under a pseudonym and has to take on the role when dealing with publishers and PR companies.

Throw in a possible romance and lots of familial issues with his ill mother, Agnes (Leslie Uggams), his sister, Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross), and his recently out brother, Clifford (Sterling K. Brown) and you have a film that walks a fineline between satirical comedy, and heartbreaking drama, and every single performer in the film helps create and maintain the tone perfectly.

Wright has long been a favourite of mine, and watching him shine in this is something to behold. He always elevates the material he is in, and this material was exceptional to begin with.

Beautifully shot in Boston, the film also includes a brilliant sequence that features Monk writing his book, which allows Keith David to make an appearance.

A biting commentary on literature, writing, family, and societal expectations, as well as narrative ones, American Fiction is a supremely enjoyable, incredingly touching, and very, very funny.

There are no easy answers for Monk, or the audience, and despite the laughs the film provides, it also poses a lot of questions of its viewers, and that really makes this one something to watch. It’s not only there to entertain, but to make you see things in a new way.

American Fiction is a fantastic, smart, heartfelt and lets Wright own the spotlight. It lost out on Best Picture to Oppenheimer, but will no doubt find its way onto countless cinephiles and film-goers best of lists for years to come.

And now, I can’t wait to see what Cord Jefferson does next.